A Missouri police chief is warning that an especially potent batch of heroin might be to blame for six overdoses and one death over 24 hours last week.

Rolla Police Chief Mark Kearse says his town averages about 200 heroin overdoses and a dozen heroin deaths each year. But the pace of overdoses last Thursday and Friday has him concerned that an exceptionally dangerous batch of the drug is going around.

Heroin issues have plagued the south-central Missouri college town of about 20,000 for the last six years. Already this year two young children have been stuck with used hypodermic needles they found on the ground.

Kearse says there aren’t enough treatment centers to help the growing number of addicts, which also contributes to the problem.